William Hayman was a merchant, slave trader and Mayor of Bristol in the 17th century.
[1] In 1684, Hayman was involved in an abortive attempt to supply slaves illegally to a Somerset squire, William Helyar, with a plantation in Nevis.
Hayman undertook this trade with his nephews Anthony and William Swymmer, and another merchant John Napper.
[citation needed] After the Monmouth rebellion, Hayman, who was Mayor of Bristol at the time, was fined £1000 by Chief Justice Jeffreys, for kidnapping of slaves for plantations.
[2] Hayman's daughter Mary married Thomas Edwards, MP.